Alabama basketball rolled in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Charleston and gutted out a win over a Grand Canyon side, relying on its defense to carry the Crimson Tide to victory. In both outings, Mark Sears, was spectacular, scoring 30 points against Charleston and logging his first double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds Sunday night.

While Sears has been heroic, he hasn't done it alone. Fellow starters Latrell Wrightsell Jr. buried five 3s against the Cougars and Rylan Griffen scored 13 points in the first half against Grand Canyon. The biggest boost, however, has come from Alabama's bench.

The Tide got 37 points from its second unit against Charleston and 20 of its 72 points from the bench against Grand Canyon. Against the Antelopes, Mouhamed Dioubate went from an underrated role player to Alabama’s most important piece in crunch time when the Tide needed some grit. He grabbed a Sears missed free throw and converted an and-1 layup plus the free throw to put Alabama up 60-58. Dioubate finished with nine points — all of which came in the final five minutes of the game — and five rebounds.

Dioubate’s frontcourt teammate Nick Pringle was also essential in the win over the Antelopes. Despite smashing a clipboard which drew a bench technical in the first half, he finished with six points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. He stayed on the floor for 25 minutes and only picked up three fouls in a game, which seemed to have one foul occur every possession.

“Nick Pringle's play was as good as he's been all year,” Oats said after the game. “He didn't necessarily score it a bunch, but he had nine rebounds, four O boards. Dioubate had five O boards. We ended up with 20 O boards on them. They were big plays, both of them when they're getting O boards.”

From top to bottom of Alabama’s lineup, players made contributions in the first two rounds. Against Charleston, freshman Sam Walters scored nine points and Jarin Stevenson had seven points and a pair of blocks. Dioubate and forward Mohamed Wague both had six points and four rebounds.

When Alabama's bench plays well, good results have followed against quality opposition this season. Alabama scored 29 bench points in its lone win over Florida and 27 in its narrow victory over Auburn. The Crimson Tide failed to log over 20 in its two blowout losses to the Gators and had just eight in the reverse fixture against the Tigers. Even in defeats to quality opposition, the Tide's reserves can keep it in the game. In its narrow losses to Tennessee and Creighton — two teams that also made the Sweet 16 — Alabama had 25 and 39 bench points respectively.

Oats has said several times this season that this year’s Alabama team wants to play for each other and enjoys each other’s success. On the biggest stage of the season, Alabama is showing that chemistry.

“These guys are pretty close-knit,” Oats said. “[Patrick] Murphy with [Alabama] softball came in and talked to our guys midway through the season. He's got the big word Mudita, which is vicarious joy through someone else's achievements, and we've tried to make that a big deal. Like, are you as happy for Mark or Trelly or whoever is playing well that day? Are you as happy for Mo Dioubate, that he comes in and he gets a lot more minutes than he typically would have got as you would be if yourself was in there? I think these guys have embraced it a lot.”

Alabama players’ support for one another and understanding their roles in the last two games is a sign of a team returning to its best form when it matters most. Now it needs to take another leap forward when Alabama faces No. 1 seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

Bench scoring isn't the only key against the Tar Heels. Dioubate, Wague and Pringle will be vital to defending North Carolina star forward Armando Bacot. Stevenson has the opportunity to shine against a school that recruited him heavily. Walters’ 3s made the difference in Alabama’s only win over Florida. His role as a corner specialist adds another element to the Tide's elite offense, which poses another obstacle for UNC.

The bench can’t replace the starters. Sears will need another outstanding performance. Nelson has to find his rhythm after combining for just six points and two rebounds in the first two rounds. But if it all comes together for Alabama’s bench on both ends — and the Crimson Tide sustains the defensive intensity it had against Grand Canyon — it has a shot to take down the 1-seed Tar Heels.